Latest news with #goldrush
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
A 1,000-tonne ship is exploring the far-flung South Pacific for riches buried beneath the waves, spearheading efforts to dredge the tropical waters for industrial deep-sea mining. Fringed by sparkling lagoons and palm-shaded beaches, Pacific nation the Cook Islands has opened its vast ocean territory for mining exploration. Research vessels roam the seas searching for deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals that litter the deep ocean's abyssal plains. The frontier industry is likened by some to a modern-day gold rush, and decried by others as environmental "madness". AFP visited the sunburst-orange MV Anuanua Moana at the Cook Islands' sleepy port of Avatiu, where it loaded supplies before setting sail for the archipelago's outer reaches. "The resource in our field is probably in the order of about US$4 billion in potential value," said chief executive Hans Smit from Moana Minerals, which converted the former supply ship into a deepwater research vessel. It is fitted with chemistry labs, sonar arrays and sensors used to probe the seabed for coveted metals. For two years it has sailed the Cook Islands, halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, gathering data to convince regulators that deep-sea mining is safe. While exploration is far advanced, no company has started mining on a commercial scale. - Big business - "I want to be mining before 2030," Smit said from the ship's tower, as whirring cranes loaded wooden crates of heavy gear below. "Absolutely, I think that we can." Large tracts of seabed around the Cook Islands are carpeted in polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with cobalt, nickel, manganese and other coveted metals. Demand has been driven by the rise of electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and durable alloys used in everything from construction to medicine. The Cook Islands lay claim to one of just four major nodule deposits globally. It is "the world's largest and richest resource of polymetallic nodules within a sovereign territory", according to Australia's University of Queensland. Moana Minerals -- a subsidiary of a Texas-based company -- owns the rights to explore 20,000 square kilometres (7,500 square miles) within the Cook Islands' exclusive economic zone. "If we put one mining ship on there, and we started producing metals, we will be one of the largest mines around," said Smit. - 'Belongs to us' - Few countries are as reliant on the ocean as the Cook Islands, a seafaring nation of some 17,000 people scattered across a chain of volcanic isles and coral atolls. Pristine lagoons lure wealthy tourists that prop-up the economy, fridges are stocked with fish plucked from vibrant reefs, and local myths teach children to revere the sea. Many Cook Islanders fear deep-sea mining could taint their precious "moana", or ocean, forever. "I have seen the ship in the harbour," said tour guide Ngametua Mamanu, 55. "Why do we need the mining stuff to destroy the oceans?" Retiree Ana Walker, 74, feared foreign interests had come to plunder her island home. "We think that these people are coming over to make money and to leave the mess with us." Deep-sea mining companies tout the need for critical minerals to make electric vehicles, solar panels and other "green" technologies. The idea holds some allure in a place like the Cook Islands, where climate change is linked to droughts, destructive cyclones and rising seas. "If all goes well, there is good that can come out of it. Financially," said third-generation pearl farmer James Kora, 31. "But it relies on how well we manage all those minerals. If the science says it's safe." - 'Guinea pigs' - Marine biologist Teina Rongo squinted into the sunlight as his small boat motored past the Anuanua Moana, an emblem of an industry he views with deep distrust. "We were never about exploring the bottom of the ocean, because our ancestors believed it is a place of the gods," said Rongo. "We don't belong there." Deep-sea mining companies are still figuring the best way to retrieve nodules that can lie five kilometres (three miles) or more beneath the waves. Most focus on robotic harvesting machines, which scrape up nodules as they crawl the ocean floor. Critics fear mining will smother marine life with plumes of waste, and that the alien noise of heavy machinery will disrupt oceanic migrations. Environmentalist Alanna Smith said researchers knew very little about the deep ocean. "We'd really be the guinea pigs of this industry, going first in. "It's a risky, risky move." - Powerful friends - A US-backed research expedition in the 1950s was the first to discover the "enormous fields" of polymetallic nodules in the South Pacific. Waves of Japanese, French, American and Russian ships sailed the Cook Islands in the following decades to map this trove. But deep-sea mining was largely a fringe idea until around 2018, when the burgeoning electric vehicle industry sent metal prices soaring. Mining companies are now vying to exploit the world's four major nodule fields -- three in international waters, and the fourth in the Cook Islands. The International Seabed Authority meets this month to mull rules that could pave the way for mining in international waters. Although the Cook Islands can mine its territory without the authority's approval, it still has a stake in the decision. The Cook Islands also own one of 17 contracts to hunt for nodules in the international waters of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, halfway between Mexico and Hawaii. So far, the Cook Islands has said its approach -- even in its own waters -- would be closely "aligned" with the authority's rules. But it remains unclear if it will proceed without those regulations. "We're not setting time frames in terms of when we want to get this started," said Edward Herman, from the Cook Islands' Seabed Minerals Authority. "I think the time frames will be determined based on what the research and the science and the data tells us." Many of the Cook Islands' South Pacific neighbours want to see deep-sea mining banned. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a scathing indictment in June, saying the "predatory" industry was environmental "madness". But the Cook Islands has powerful friends. It signed an agreement with China earlier this year for the "exploration and research of seabed mineral resources". "There was a lot of noise," said Herman, referencing the backlash over the China deal. "And obviously there's a lot of interest... whenever China engages with anyone in the Pacific. "And we understand, we accept it, and we will continue." sft/djw/sah/lb
News.com.au
22 minutes ago
- Business
- News.com.au
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
A 1,000-tonne ship is exploring the far-flung South Pacific for riches buried beneath the waves, spearheading efforts to dredge the tropical waters for industrial deep-sea mining. Fringed by sparkling lagoons and palm-shaded beaches, Pacific nation the Cook Islands has opened its vast ocean territory for mining exploration. Research vessels roam the seas searching for deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals that litter the deep ocean's abyssal plains. The frontier industry is likened by some to a modern-day gold rush, and decried by others as environmental "madness". AFP visited the sunburst-orange MV Anuanua Moana at the Cook Islands' sleepy port of Avatiu, where it loaded supplies before setting sail for the archipelago's outer reaches. "The resource in our field is probably in the order of about US$4 billion in potential value," said chief executive Hans Smit from Moana Minerals, which converted the former supply ship into a deepwater research vessel. It is fitted with chemistry labs, sonar arrays and sensors used to probe the seabed for coveted metals. For two years it has sailed the Cook Islands, halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, gathering data to convince regulators that deep-sea mining is safe. While exploration is far advanced, no company has started mining on a commercial scale. - Big business - "I want to be mining before 2030," Smit said from the ship's tower, as whirring cranes loaded wooden crates of heavy gear below. "Absolutely, I think that we can." Large tracts of seabed around the Cook Islands are carpeted in polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with cobalt, nickel, manganese and other coveted metals. Demand has been driven by the rise of electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and durable alloys used in everything from construction to medicine. The Cook Islands lay claim to one of just four major nodule deposits globally. It is "the world's largest and richest resource of polymetallic nodules within a sovereign territory", according to Australia's University of Queensland. Moana Minerals -- a subsidiary of a Texas-based company -- owns the rights to explore 20,000 square kilometres (7,500 square miles) within the Cook Islands' exclusive economic zone. "If we put one mining ship on there, and we started producing metals, we will be one of the largest mines around," said Smit. - 'Belongs to us' - Few countries are as reliant on the ocean as the Cook Islands, a seafaring nation of some 17,000 people scattered across a chain of volcanic isles and coral atolls. Pristine lagoons lure wealthy tourists that prop-up the economy, fridges are stocked with fish plucked from vibrant reefs, and local myths teach children to revere the sea. Many Cook Islanders fear deep-sea mining could taint their precious "moana", or ocean, forever. "I have seen the ship in the harbour," said tour guide Ngametua Mamanu, 55. "Why do we need the mining stuff to destroy the oceans?" Retiree Ana Walker, 74, feared foreign interests had come to plunder her island home. "We think that these people are coming over to make money and to leave the mess with us." Deep-sea mining companies tout the need for critical minerals to make electric vehicles, solar panels and other "green" technologies. The idea holds some allure in a place like the Cook Islands, where climate change is linked to droughts, destructive cyclones and rising seas. "If all goes well, there is good that can come out of it. Financially," said third-generation pearl farmer James Kora, 31. "But it relies on how well we manage all those minerals. If the science says it's safe." - 'Guinea pigs' - Marine biologist Teina Rongo squinted into the sunlight as his small boat motored past the Anuanua Moana, an emblem of an industry he views with deep distrust. "We were never about exploring the bottom of the ocean, because our ancestors believed it is a place of the gods," said Rongo. "We don't belong there." Deep-sea mining companies are still figuring the best way to retrieve nodules that can lie five kilometres (three miles) or more beneath the waves. Most focus on robotic harvesting machines, which scrape up nodules as they crawl the ocean floor. Critics fear mining will smother marine life with plumes of waste, and that the alien noise of heavy machinery will disrupt oceanic migrations. Environmentalist Alanna Smith said researchers knew very little about the deep ocean. "We'd really be the guinea pigs of this industry, going first in. "It's a risky, risky move." - Powerful friends - A US-backed research expedition in the 1950s was the first to discover the "enormous fields" of polymetallic nodules in the South Pacific. Waves of Japanese, French, American and Russian ships sailed the Cook Islands in the following decades to map this trove. But deep-sea mining was largely a fringe idea until around 2018, when the burgeoning electric vehicle industry sent metal prices soaring. Mining companies are now vying to exploit the world's four major nodule fields -- three in international waters, and the fourth in the Cook Islands. The International Seabed Authority meets this month to mull rules that could pave the way for mining in international waters. Although the Cook Islands can mine its territory without the authority's approval, it still has a stake in the decision. The Cook Islands also own one of 17 contracts to hunt for nodules in the international waters of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, halfway between Mexico and Hawaii. So far, the Cook Islands has said its approach -- even in its own waters -- would be closely "aligned" with the authority's rules. But it remains unclear if it will proceed without those regulations. "We're not setting time frames in terms of when we want to get this started," said Edward Herman, from the Cook Islands' Seabed Minerals Authority. "I think the time frames will be determined based on what the research and the science and the data tells us." Many of the Cook Islands' South Pacific neighbours want to see deep-sea mining banned. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a scathing indictment in June, saying the "predatory" industry was environmental "madness". But the Cook Islands has powerful friends. It signed an agreement with China earlier this year for the "exploration and research of seabed mineral resources". "There was a lot of noise," said Herman, referencing the backlash over the China deal. "And obviously there's a lot of interest... whenever China engages with anyone in the Pacific. "And we understand, we accept it, and we will continue."
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Starmer's Sandbanks exodus: Experts warn properties Britain's most sought-after postcode are becoming unsellable - as Labour's tax bombs drive buyers abroad to Dubai and the Mediterranean
The great Sandbanks gold rush might be over - with properties failing to sell and developers shutting up shop after local authorities were given the power to double council tax on second homes. Known as a bubble for the ultra-rich for its luxurious houses on idyllic beaches, the Dorset enclave has drawn in the likes of Harry Redknapp, Karl Pilkington, John Lennon and Liam Gallagher over the years. It sits alongside the ever-desirable hubs of Monte Carlo, Basel and Palm Beach as the fourth most expensive place in the world to buy a house, and Britain's most expensive postcode. But the scramble to live in the UK's most exclusive second-home neighbourhood looks to be finished - as estate agents and developers have revealed a staggering drop in demand. The Sandbanks bubble, it seems, has burst - and the blame has been laid squarely at Keir Starmer 's door. Lola May Massingham, CEO and Founder of Prime Coastal Property said a semi-detached home on the waterfront can go for up to £8million, but the government's war on the rich means there are fewer people willing to spend. She told MailOnline: 'There's been a big difference in how the market has changed in the last 12 months. You'd expect this time of year to be really busy because that's when everyone comes down, but it has been quieter. 'There's a lot of properties on the market and not enough buyers. That's the honest truth. 'Labour's double rates are really not helping. Buyers are more nervous now because there doesn't seem to be any good announcements from the government and there is a lot of uncertainty in the world, so a lot of people have said they're holding off.' Keir Starmer's government has been blamed for a drop-off in the second homes market The great Sandbanks gold rush might be over as properties in the UK's highly sought after and most expensive postcode are struggling to sell She added: 'With the cost of living, now is not a good time to buy. There hasn't been any incentives to help people buy homes and so they are looking abroad where there are governments who do. 'It comes down to the current state of the economy, tax is a big reason and so places like Dubai are soaring and Portugal is doing really well too.' Prices in Sandbanks, Dorset, the priciest coastal peninsula of all, are down three per cent from two years ago, according to a recent report by Lloyds. Town halls were given the power to double council tax on second homes on April 1. The policy was introduced in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act by Rishi Sunak's Conservative government in 2023 - but its adoption was then continued by the incoming Starmer government. The Liberal Democrat-run Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, which covers Sandbanks, among the more than 200 authorities who elected to impose the hike. Figures from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) show there are 4,991 properties classed as second homes in BCP - of which 158 are Band H, the category reserved for the most lucrative retreats. Second homes make up just over three per cent of the total housing stock in the area, above the national average of around one per cent, and BCP has more Band H second homes than average too. The council could collect millions of pounds of additional revenue from these properties each year - unless some are flipped into holiday lets for at least a fifth of the year, which would exempt them from council tax. BCP declined to provide a comment for this article when approached by MailOnline. But experts also blame Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who hiked the additional stamp duty paid on second homes from three per cent to five per cent in her stinging budget last October. The waterfront homes on Poole Harbour are some of the most sought-after properties in the world For a property worth more than £1.5million - Sandbanks territory - the total stamp duty applied to a second home is 17 per cent. Overseas buyers and non-UK residents pay an additional two per cent. Ms Massingham added that the pandemic saw a major surge in buyers rushing to the seaside town, but now that life has settled people are less intrigued - yet agents are still overvaluing the homes. She said: 'Prices massively escalated during Covid and went up more than £200,000. It was a time when people made decisions about buying second homes or moving, but now the market has levelled out. 'It is quite flat and a house won't sell now for what it did four years ago. There are some properties that have been on and off the market for years fluctuating in price and struggling to sell.' However she insisted: 'Although the market is not as strong I am positive that things will pick up.' One four bedroom property, which is only a two-minute walk from Sandbanks beach and Canford Cliffs Village was listed at £1,750,000, following a £100,000 price reduction last November. Sandbanks property developer Richard Carr made a record-breaking sale just nine months ago - but has gone bust due to financial struggles. He set a record sale price last November for a single piece of land in Poole when his business sold a plot for just under £16m. But he has confirmed his company Fortitudo has ceased trading and blamed the government for the state of the luxury housing market. He said: 'Residential property is very, very difficult to sell, particularly high-end property, and so we have decided to shut the businesses as it was. 'We closed it because we just can't sell anything, can't make any money. 'If you talk to estate agents - we had nine properties on ranging from £1.4m to £2.8m - and there are just no buyers. The only way you could sell them was by heavily discounting them. 'Labour have brought in double rates on second homes. A lot of homes in Sandbanks are second homes so all of a sudden that second home market has all but evaporated. 'The economy is absolutely shot, and my personal view is things are going to get worse. 'We all know there's tax rises coming again in November and there's a real lack of confidence in the market. 'I see no light at the end of the tunnel whatsoever of the market improving and its very sad, but it's the unfortunate byproduct of the current administration. 'Everything is very difficult since this government have been in power. It was bad enough with the Conservatives - now it's ridiculous.' Sandbanks (pictured) was a largely deserted headland in the Victoria era until a hotel was built in the 1880s and then 40 plots of land were put up for sale at public auction in 1896 The craze to get your hands on a second home in the dream-like town has waned (pictured: a bungalow that sold for £13.5million in 2023 Parkstone Yacht Club (pictured) is sited next to a row of lucrative harbour-view homes Property expert Jonathan Rolande also told MailOnline the end of the pandemic has played a part in Sandbanks losing its appeal. 'During Covid we couldn't imagine getting on a plane, but the rush is over now and we're back to reality. Why spend millions to chance bad weather in England when you can buy somewhere abroad for much less.' He added that the craze to get your hands on a second home in the dream-like town has waned as buyers battle a dire economy and are being wiser about where to invest. 'The market is pretty flat. Super luxury properties used to be immune from this but now they're not. The council tax on second homes doesn't help and there's super high stamp duties. 'For a normal buyer that stamp could be around £300,000 which is quite the chop. 'It's going to become quite common now where house prices are being reduced. This should be prime time for sales but it hasn't happened so a lot of owners think it's now or never and will cut the price. 'If it's not doing well now it's only going to get worse in winter. Property surprises everyone all the time but it's going to be a tough autumn and winter unless we see the interest rates drop. 'The economy affects people directly and with interest rates being so high, people can't afford a home like they may have been able to a few years ago.' He added: 'It's absolutely vital the economy does well because you can never have a good property market in a bad economy.' 'The light at the end of the tunnel will be interest rates going down. There are clouds on the horizon, though it's not raining yet.' An MHCLG spokesperson said: 'We know that there is a desperate need for homes, and having too many second homes in an area can exacerbate the housing crisis by driving up housing costs for local people and damaging public services. 'As well as delivering our stretching target of 1.5 million homes so we can restore the dream of homeownership, councils can also choose to add up to 100% extra on the council tax bills of second homes to help local leaders protect their communities.'
Irish Times
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘Everyone is digging for gold now': Desperate Syrians resort to scouring ancient sites
Spotting a rare foreigner in the southern Syrian city of Nawa, Khalil approaches with a business proposal: bring him a 'very good metal detector from abroad' with 'very good sonar' and he promises 'very good results ... pure gold coins'. He grins. The white-haired 62-year-old is wearing sunglasses and a Nike-branded black bomber jacket, a cigarette hanging between his fingers. He is a veteran gold digger who has been searching for 40 years. 'I once was lucky,' he recalls wistfully. A decade ago, Khalil – who is only being identified by his first name – says he discovered 840 silver coins in a sealed jar. He believes they were from the Abbasid period, which lasted from about 750 to 1258 AD. This booty fetched Khalil $50,000 (€43,000), money he says he shared with others working for him. READ MORE He pauses, considering his previous proposal. He is also looking for foreign traders: people who could transport any discoveries abroad and sell them for a good price. Here is another way we could enter business together, Khalil suggests. Syria is in the midst of a gold rush. While gold-digging – where people search for coins and other old, buried artefacts – took place under the Assad regime, the opening up of movement and something of a security vacuum across the country has turbocharged it. As omnipresent regime checkpoints and the all-seeing tentacles of intelligence branches were shut down, more Syrians have taken to digging for gold, motivated by a catastrophic economic situation that leaves people with few other options. 'Everybody is digging now. Children. Women,' says one gold digger, who, like many others, declines to be named. But this looting of artefacts is raising widespread concerns. While it is deemed illegal by the new government, these rules are taking time to be implemented or respected. The Syrian Civil Defence, commonly known as the White Helmets, may be better known for life-saving work during the war, but now they have been drafted in to map heritage sites across Syria over the next two years. They are fundraising for help with efforts including surveying and assessing damage; removing explosives and mines from historic sites; and installing protective infrastructure. Syria has a rich history, including six Unesco-recognised World Heritage Sites, all of which Unesco says were destroyed or badly damaged during nearly 14 years of civil war. 'By helping us safeguard these sites, you're helping Syrians reclaim their cultural roots and rebuild what war has tried to erase,' the White Helmets appeal says. Khalil says he once earned $50,000 after finding hundreds of silver coins in a sealed jar. Photograph: Sally Hayden On the ground in the southern Daraa governorate, any idea of safeguarding seems far away. Dotted across a hill that a local historian says used to be a Roman, Byzantine and Greek village, men search for gold from 7am to 5pm, six days a week. They cover their faces in scarves to protect their skin from the scorching sun, stopping occasionally for tea breaks, the water poured out from a jerrycan. At night, they hide their equipment in holes under stones so they are not spotted walking with it through urban areas. I lost 13 colleagues because the Syrian regime used to shoot on us A metal detector costs $4,000, and can detect buried items up to one metre below the surface, they say. Pieces of seemingly ancient pottery litter the ground around them. One 23-year-old says he has been searching for gold since he was a child, making a discovery 'sometimes every day, every two days, every month'. He did it 'even under the regime ... I lost 13 colleagues because the Syrian regime used to shoot on us'. Regime forces would claim they were terrorists digging tunnels, he says. 'It's like a hope,' says another man, behind him, who explains that they form 'workshops': five members in their workshop operate together, pooling anything they find. 'I never found gold, I only found small coins,' says a third searcher, who still earns an occasional $100. His dream is to discover a jar of gold. A short walk away, another set of apparent gold diggers are going to more extreme measures, using a €45,000 mechanical digger to lift up huge chunks of earth. Though a metal detector and shovel lie close by, when asked what they are doing, one responds that they are 'fixing' something. Another deflects, beginning to talk about how many nearby historical sites the Assad regime destroyed instead. Though gold diggers are easy to find in this part of Syria, they try to maintain secrecy around the specifics of their work. Those who set off in the morning, with a shovel and pickaxe, may drive in the wrong direction to confuse anyone observing them, before turning back to enter their chosen site for the day. History and archaeology researcher Nadal Muhammad Saed Sharaf: 'The Syrian regime destroyed all archeological sites with aerial bombings and later with bulldozers.' Photograph: Sally Hayden Someone who gets lucky will be reluctant to disclose to anyone, except for a trader, what they have found. 'If I find 10 gold coins and tell my neighbours, the same night they will come and rob my house,' one local said. This is a lesser risk than what came before: military intelligence would detain and 'disappear' searchers, a gold digger said. This was despite the regime itself being accused of selling antiquities to raise money. Opposition forces, during the lengthy war, also reportedly sold artefacts to buy weapons. They call it 'shaghlat yali malah shaghle' – the job of the jobless The gold diggers open tombs and crypts, sometimes finding skeletons still wearing jewellery, bracelets, rings and a necklace, with a kohl applicator nearby. 'When a young girl died they buried her with all her jewellery,' one man says. Chambers underground can be booby-trapped, with a stone or spear falling down when they are opened. One superstition is that the graves are monitored by demons, and if you want to enter you have to slay an animal and drop its blood at the entrance. Weapons have also been discovered in graves. A man describes finding eight small statues made from malachite. He sold them for $12,000 in 2011 to a businessman near Damascus. They later turned out to be worth $100,000. This is a common theme: Syrians feel they are being ripped off by traders with access to foreign markets. Nadal Muhammad Saed Sharaf says the destruction of Syria's history makes him feel like he is 'suffocating'. Photograph: Sally Hayden They call it 'shaghlat yali malah shaghle' – the job of the jobless, says Abu Khaled (56), who describes himself as an 'expert' and agrees to be identified only by his nickname. 'This is the only way the people can get money. There is opportunity now.' The main issue is 'the metal detectors aren't very advanced'. He says stones in Daraa can contain metal oxides because it's a volcanic area, confusing the machines. Other people just use a shovel and pickaxe to search. Abu Khaled used to own a factory, but it closed down because of the difficulties of transporting goods through regime checkpoints. His hobby is 'archaeology and archaeological sites ... I like to preserve history. I feel sad if someone writes on the wall of an ancient building, for example'. He partly educates himself through YouTube videos and Facebook pages, though many of the opinions shared online are wrong, he says. In his livingroom, he displays what he called 'samples': coins he found himself – dozens in total. They would fetch about $150 inside Syria, but up to $3,000 outside, he says. He believes they came from the Islamic period, Roman period and Byzantine period. Coins collected by Abu Khaled are pictured at his home in Daraa, Syria. Photograph: Sally Hayden 'Of course, taking artefacts out of the country is not good for the heritage of the country, but we have to go back to the source of the problem ... The Syrian regime bombed the towns here with barrel bombs, fighter jets ... Daraa is full of artefacts ... We cannot blame one or two poor people,' he says. He says Syrians from Daraa used to travel to Lebanon or Jordan to find employment, but Lebanon has suffered a devastating financial crisis and a residency is required to work in Jordan now. Local agricultural work has been decimated by drought related to climate change. 'So people were stuck here' and needed to find something to do. If someone gets lucky they will 'go to Mars', Abu Khaled says, using a phrase that means getting very rich. 'In an ideal world' the new government would 'protect the sites' and encourage tourism, but to do that the government would also need to improve the country's infrastructure. Daraa could be an unlikely destination for tourists, too, not least because it is regularly affected by Israeli incursions and attacks . But the apparent loss of history is being mourned by some. 'I feel like I'm suffocating,' says history and archaeology researcher Nadal Muhammad Saed Sharaf (62) about the feeling he experiences looking at the photographs of historical sites and artefacts spread out on the floor in front of him. Photographs taken by researcher Nadal Muhammad Saed Sharaf, who says about 90 per cent of what is pictured has been destroyed. Photograph: Sally Hayden There are dozens including an Aramaic water spring, a 'temple of sun' from the Greek period, a stone cross from the early Christian period, Roman roads, Byzantine stones and an 'ark of victory memorial of battle' between a Roman and Persian army. Sharaf took these photographs in 2002. When he was displaced from Nawa for three years during the war, he buried the pictures in his back garden, digging them up again upon his return. Some 90 per cent of the actual sites are destroyed now, he says. It causes him 'grieving, pain'. Poverty is not a justification to do this stuff because this is our identity and we have to preserve our history Daraa, Sharaf says, was a very important historical trade route throughout 'all the history of mankind', set – as it is – between Baghdad, Amman, Beirut and Damascus. It was inhabited as far back as 10,000 BC. In 2006, he accompanied visiting European archaeologists when they came to study this area, but in the years since, he says, those seeking to preserve its history have not received support or funding. 'The Syrian regime destroyed all archeological sites with aerial bombings and later with bulldozers because they didn't want the rebels to hide in them,' he says. Now Sharaf would like to see a collaboration between the new government and Unesco to protect what remains and to restore what they can. 'There's extreme poverty here and the state doesn't have a grip on the ground, so the poor people are going to search [for gold and artefacts],' he says. But 'poverty is not a justification to do this stuff because this is our identity and we have to preserve our identity and history'. Additional reporting by Hani Alagbar and Nader Debo
News.com.au
12-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Mapped: Areas where Australians are striking gold
Two friends from Western Australia have struck gold, pocketing more than $160,000 after discovering large nuggets during a prospecting mission. Amalgamated Prospectors and Leaseholders Association of Western Australia President James Allison told the Kalgoorlie Miner the two men uncovered the treasure at Sandstone, a small town some 400km northwest of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Mr Allison said the two men, who had been prospecting for decades, came across a one-ounce nugget worth more than $5000. Later that day, the pair hit the jackpot again when their detector picked up a second sound. The men dug up and unearthed another piece weighing 895 grams, worth a whopping $161,000, according to the Perth Mint spot price as of June. Victoria is also on the cusp of a whole new gold rush, with bush blocks where owners have found the odd nugget becoming hot property. Towns across the state's former gold fields, and especially in the golden triangle bounded by Bendigo, Ballarat and Wedderburn, have wannabe prospectors hunting for cheap land to hunt for the valuable mineral. With the price of gold surging over the past decade the leading lobby group believes more and more people will be looking to stake a claim to an alluvial address. Prospectors and Mining Association of Victoria President Jason Cornish said more people had begun looking to buy a cheap bush block amid fears the state government would turn Crown land — where prospecting is currently legal — into national parks, where it is not. Stockdale & Leggo Bendigo Sales Manager Grant Hosking said he was seeing good numbers of retirees relocating from Melbourne to take up a prospecting hobby in their golden years. Buyers have been homing in on blocks anywhere from 4ha to 40ha. 'In Wedderburn, property has never sold that quick, but we are selling them very, very quickly at the moment — and getting good prices for them,' Mr Hosking said. 'And most of it is weekenders and hobby prospectors.' The Australian Government Geoscience Australia website shows a map of where gold is likely to be found and which states have greater sources of gold. It says gold is mostly found in rocks, and WA accounted for 60 per cent of Australia's gold discoveries. Primary deposits, where miners target, were in Kalgoorlie in the Super Pit, Granny Smith, St Ives, Norseman and Mount Magnet all in WA, Gympie and Ravenswood Qld, Callie NT, Stawell Vic, Cadia NSW, Henty Tas and Challenger in SA. Gold is also found in Olympic Dam, SA – the area is mined with copper and uranium. 'Mostly, gold is spread throughout the rocks and soil around us but in such low amounts that it's not worthwhile trying to get it out,' the website said. 'However, there are some places where there is enough gold to make it economic to mine.'
